Blackjack anyone?

Actually, other than being annoying, poor play by another player doesn't affect your odds at blackjack.

Here:

http://www.blackjackinfo.com/blog/th...-in-blackjack/ Originally Posted by Flyboy182

Yeah I know flyboy, but it'll throw me off so much that I concentrate more on what jackass is doing than my own game. I have issues.

CPT, I'm not arguing for Martingdale...but pointing out the mathematical reason it won't work. I'd love to play poker with you though.

Fwiw....I do count cards if I play BJ. There aren't enough single deck hands and the reshuffles occur just as a true advantage can be gained.

Meanwhile the popularity of poker on TV leads many fish to the table. I agree that if skill of players were totally equal in poker, or the house quit jiggering BJ games to remove advantages, blackjack would be the more profitable venture

PS. I also play primarily private games and avoid casino rakes at the poker table. Would you like to play? Originally Posted by Flyboy182

I stand corrected on the Martingale betting strategy, I thought you were advocating it there for a second. While single deck does give the better odds, most of the penetration offered by houses is lousy compared to the days of the past. Those games can still be very profitable however. Just depends on how many rounds their going to deal the players. I may take you up on your offer and thanks for offering me to play poker. However I'm sticking to BJ as of the moment.

I love live Blackjack! I've only gotten to play it in casinos a handful of times, but I feel like I've been pretty successful. I don't know any "techniques" for playing but I've always been good at math so I estimate probabilities as each card is dealt and I've developed my own system for winning. I've never had any success on digital/electronic games, but it has worked for me to varying degrees in live games. I've never won less than $60 over an initial $40 investment and the most I've one was almost $7K on a $40 bankroll and I like to think that was most likely the debatable "beginner's luck".
That first win happened in Vegas at Caesar's and they did not try to run me off. Some Marine Corps buddies and I were on leave and it was my first time in LV after having turned 21 (the first time there sucked). There were 5 of us and to save money, we decided that one of would get the room on his credit card and the rest of us would pay him our share. We stayed for four nights and one of those was eventually comped due to my success on day three. I had patently refused to gamble prior to that day because I just "knew" I'd lose my ass and get addicted to losing money. So I focused on going to shows, spending money on a flashy car rental, and going bars. My goal was actually to get laid as much as possible, but after one night of no luck, a second night of a drunken "wingman" hook-up, and getting locked out of our room, I ended up playing to pass the time.
On that third day, I had been doing my own thing at a bars in the Luxor and the Rio and coming out emptyhanded, I made my way back to the room at around 3 a.m. We only told the hotel staff there were three of us (per their rules at the time for single guy guests), had only three beds (which we took turns sleeping on), and three card keys for the door. I didn't have a key. When I made it to the room, no one would answer the door (the one buddy in the room was passed out drunk) and I couldn't reach the other two on their phones. So I had $40 left in the wallet I had on me (I had more in the safe in the room) and I decided to play some games. I am not interested in feeding the one armed bandits, so I decided to play some roulette. I played odd/evens and black/red for a while and made about $15 but got bored quickly. I knew one of my buddies had made over $100 on Blackjack and he was pretty stupid, so I figured I could do ok once I learned the rules. I found a table with two ladies playing and a lady croupier and I sat down to her immediate left. I told her up front that it was my first time and to forgive me if I mess up. I gave her both $20s I had in my wallet and got my chips. It was a $2 minimum table so I got all my chips as $2s. After several hands, I had the gist of the game and was up $10. She eventually had to leave as another dealer took her place and I ended up giving her a $20 tip since I was then up $200. What I think I enjoyed most was getting all those free Jack-n-cokes.
Anyway, I was eventually approached by what I assume was a pit boss after I was up more than $600 about half hour later. The boss asked (not told) me if I wanted to move to a higher stakes table. He even offered me food vouchers for steak and lobster if I would. I said I would move if my two good luck charms (the two women that were still playing) would go with me and keep me company. They looked at one another and agreed to follow, but didn't play at the other table. So, I went to a $25 minimum table and proceeded to play for another hour or so, getting drinks for the two brunettes with me and getting a little buzzed myself (though I drank a lot of water between drinks). At that table, I raked in over $8k and went through two more dealers before a different boss asked me to move to an even higher stakes table. This time, the carrot was either a free night stay (if I wasn't staying there) or a night comped (since I was). I asked the girls if they wanted to go with and they were still up for it, so I pretty much figured they were hunting for $. So, took the voucher and my chips, tipped the dealer, and used the break to go to the restroom.
I finally, came back to a $100 minimum table where I was the only one there (it was after 5am at that point) and continued to play. It didn't take long and I was about to have over $12,000 when my luck broke. I continued losing for the next half hour and walked out with just shy of $7K. I asked the girls if they had anywhere to be and I told them I was sharing a room with friends but we had a deal that any of us could have the others leave if we brought home "company". I again tried the door and no one answered, so I just got a room with my voucher. I'm not saying that I paid my "good luck charms", but I did have them bring back my luck for a few hours.
Since then, I've not won nearly that much gambling, but I have had some good days and now my two preferred games are Blackjack and betting on the ponies. I love to hit a good trifecta!
The thing I try to do every time I play, is to set a limit that I'm willing to lose, never take a credit card or debit card (only the cash I'm willing to lose) and once I make my initial investment, I put it away and don't bet it. I will only use "the House's money" after that.
I know that was a long story, but I felt like sharing.

I don't know if I stated in my other post, but I don't exactly "count cards". It takes too much focus for me and I can sometimes get muddled up. But, I evaluate probabilities of drawing cards. I was always great at statistics and figures of that type so I stick with what I know. In my experience, I personally do not like to play on a table that uses less than 5 decks. I feel (with no scientific evidence to prove it other than my success) that odds are more in a player's favor as long as he or she pays attention to what is going on to some degree. And I like playing first draw after the dealer. It has always served me well except for at Oaklawn where it is electronic. I don't think that machine is accurate to playing with real decks.

I like your stories SnprEli, please continue them mate.

Interesting thread

I don't know if I stated in my other post, but I don't exactly "count cards". It takes too much focus for me and I can sometimes get muddled up. But, I evaluate probabilities of drawing cards. I was always great at statistics and figures of that type so I stick with what I know. In my experience, I personally do not like to play on a table that uses less than 5 decks. I feel (with no scientific evidence to prove it other than my success) that odds are more in a player's favor as long as he or she pays attention to what is going on to some degree. And I like playing first draw after the dealer. It has always served me well except for at Oaklawn where it is electronic. I don't think that machine is accurate to playing with real decks. Originally Posted by SnprEli

A high schooler could learn how to count cards, it just takes practice and a lil muscle memory. A player cannot evaluate a situation properly or even calculate probabilities remotely in BJ if they are not counting. Sure, a player could play correct basic strategy but with the added advantage of counting cards, it creates that much more of an edge for the player.

If you like 6 deck games there is nothing wrong with that. But, the games with 1 deck or 2 decks being offered give you better odds of winning.

How can paying attention to the cards to some degree increase your odds of winning? The only way you are going to increase your odds of winning is by counting and correct basic strategy, period. Going with your gut will get your bankroll fleeced, quickly. That's a typical gambler statement. A player could see short-term success going with their gut instinct, but in the long-term the odds will grind them down to a loss in BJ it is guaranteed.

If you want to see horrible and atrocious play at BJ go down to Oaklawn sometime and watch the players play. 99% of the players that you will see on their BJ tables are gamblers in every sense of the word. It's like watching people play chess for the first time and they don't know the rules except that there is money riding on the line. The players are just literally handing their money away to the casino, practically giving it away. They do NOT know correct basic strategy, they are NOT counting. They do NOT stand a chance as I watched all of them lose, and lose badly. You want to talk about amateur hour, go down to Oaklawn. Trust me on that. The players don't stand a chance because of a lack of knowledge and the house loves it.

I would be willing to help out some players if they have an interest, but like much things in life it does not come for free.